By Bisi Lawrence
“God is in control,” remarked Gboyega Okegbenro, the passenger beside me on the plane from Abuja.

“Ah!” I replied not daring to commit myself as to my belief one way or the other. The statement of profound faith from Gboyega, who was then the Sports Editor of The Daily Times some thirteen years ago, was provoked by an announcement by the pilot. It came after two futile attempts to land at the Ikeja Airport.

The flight had been uneventful all the way until we were some five minutes from the airport when the plane suddenly encountered a storm. It started rather like what is generally known as a “cloud burst” and then it suddenly developed into a fierce storm that rocked the plane with terror.

But we proceeded to the landing range and, with everybody fastening his seat belt, the plane approached the runway to touch down.

But the pilot seemed to have overshot the landing area, and so he pulled up. He tried again with the same result, while the storm relentlessly beat on the craft as if it would break it into pieces. Screams from the passengers increased the eeriness of the situation. Some people prayed, not too quietly either. And then the pilot made that announcement that made Gboyega’s faith to shine forth.

He had been compelled to dump the fuel, he said, because we may have to make a crash landing. He would now make a third attempt to land, and that had better be successful. The screams rose higher. The noise grew more shrill. “God is in control” Gboyega Okegbenro said once again in an even voice. “God is in control.” The pilot made his third attempt. The aircraft touched down, spraying the earth and the sky with water from the flooded runway.

And then it slowed down. And .. stopped! The outburst of celebrations was even more strident than the screams it replaced. GOD IS IN CONTROL.

That was not my first experience of near-disaster in an aircraft. The first time I travelled overseas was in 1961 in one of the BOAC Comet series. Sitting beside me, on that occasion, was a young lady who was going to study law in England. We had worked together earlier for a few months in Radio Nigeria, and I had grown to admire her for her dainty manners and delightful presence. Her name was Dupe Finnih.

It was a night flight, and we started chatting immediately we were airbourne. We were about an hour from London when we encountered a storm. It started as a steady downpour but gradually matured into the full-sized grandmother of a “blower”. The aircraft rattled allover; the wing flapped like a bird’s; and most of the passengers spoke in hushed tones; their countenances became strained. The interior of the plane grew quiet.

We had fastened our seat belts, as cautioned by the crew, and then came the announcement by the captain that we would be alright, but it might be a rough ride since we were going to fly through the storm. The full impact of the danger did not seem to register generally, but I felt very uncomfortable. As if to divert our thoughts from present danger, the stewardesses started tramping down the aisles with carts laden with food. I could hardly touch my meal, but Dupe kept chatting on and engaging her plate with enthusiasm. “Why aren’t you eating?” She asked, smiling politely. ‘’Nothing will happen.”

Some one hour later, we landed safely. Dupe went on to do her law in record time. Then she got married, raised children, and established a practice which she later suspended to become an ambassador. I have never encountered a more delectable bundle of courage. GOD IS IN CONTROL.

On another occasion, I was returning from Enugu, a few years ago when I ran into my old boss, Chinua Achebe, at the airport. (If you don’t know who he is, then you better go and find out who you are.) He was in the company of a friend of his, so I did not have the pleasure of sitting next to him as I would have loved to, but I managed to sit directly behind him. Across the aisle from us were two wealthy businessmen who loudly made that fact known by the way they discussed the various transactions in which they were engaged, running into millions of naira.(This was before the “billion” days.)

Other passengers near them were engulfed in their raucous self-publicity, which spoke of a rustic background. My former boss shook his head and exchanged disapproving whispers with his friend, while the wealthy gentlemen filled the air with “millions of naira!”, “millions of naira!”, “millions of naira! … “We were bored to the gills!

But reprieve presently appeared for the oppressed passengers in the form of a storm.

The noisy rich men soon quietened down while the storm raged. Right before our eyes, the tedious pair turned into jelly. “Ah! What is happening?” intoned one of them. “This could be quite serious -o!” “See how this aeroplane is shaking? Eh! God have mercy!”

I had to look away from Chinua Achebe and his friend. They were in stitches! They went on chuckling through the storm, and even on the tarmac, after we had landed safely. They might have shared some anxiety about the safety of the plane with all of us, but the delight they took from the obvious consternation of the two bloated businessmen seemed to have overcome that concern. Or they might have simply left everything to divine discretion, enjoying their fun, having been assured that GOD IS IN CONTROL.

The flights I have cited above ended safely. The Dana Airline flight that recorded the highest carnage of any air disaster in Nigeria did not. Would that mean that God was not in control in that particular case? Could we then subscribe to the existence of a God who would withhold his control over situations that would be inimical to the safety of his creatures — of his children?

Let us not nurse any doubt about this: God works in ways that we do not know, but He is good to all that he has made, all of the time. But there are the basic laws of nature which He established with creation, and they are immutable in all normal circumstances, except the miraculous. If a man should insert his hand in fire, he will get burnt. If he does not get burnt, that is a miracle — and that is what we cannot explain, but it would yet be believable. However, if all the laws binding the cosmos are satisfied, we would always experience the munificent control of our Maker’s presence in every undertaking of human beings.

And as we know, no human undertaking is more vital to the progress and well-being of homo sapiens than movement. In this day and age, no movement is more vital than air travel. It is what makes us fit physically into the global village which our advancement has turned our world into. God was in control too during that tragic flight last Sunday, but an aspect of the laws which sustain human existence must have been disobeyed, or overlooked. That is what may be discovered in the “black box” of the ill-fated aircraft which, fortunately, was recovered. The revelations distilled from it may dispel some suspicions or speculations; or they may confirm regrettable actions that consequently cut down so many beautiful flowers in the prime of their bloom, to plunge a whole nation into grievous mourning. I happen to know some of the casualties, and can only pray that their souls may find eternal peace with their Maker.

The findings from the investigations that have been launched are for the years ahead.

From them may be learnt ways of preventing any recurrence of this horror in our country. That is for the future. Tears, remorse and deep sorrow are for the present. However, no comfort can be found in more than the belief that GOD IS IN CONTROL.